The Red Line comment is at 1:25

Photo by @Stcrow of @nytimes of Pres Obama making remarks about Ukraine during photo op with Mexican Pres Pena Nieto. pic.twitter.com/XftQFDDiDQ

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 19, 2014

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“Reporters Without Borders”,  a watchdog organization headquartered in Paris, France and known by its French acronym, “RSF”, has published its annual “World Press Freedom Index”.

Liberty Blitzkrieg brings to our attention that in the great march FORWARD!, the US was a front runner in the stakes for greatest loss of press freedom in year over year results – slipping an impressive 13 slots  from #33 last year to #46 on the 2014 world ranking, after Romania but before Haiti.

There were some “non-surprises”, such as North Korea and Eritrea remaining at the back of the pack, but also some pleasant surprises with tiny Belize clocking in at an impressive #29, hanging out in the “free press” band with Australia at #28.

Clearly, much work remains to be done before the US can be satisfied that the people’s work is completed and it can comfortably hang in the 100’s with its pals in the middle east and Africa.  Maybe that will provide the necessary incentive to Dirty Harry in the Senate to get working on that innertubes kill switch.  In the meantime, those pesky bloggers keep bringing up stuff like Benghazi, or Warrantless Wiretaps, or the ever expanding use of technology to spy on and monitor its own citizens.

The 2014 World Press Freedom Index spotlights the negative impact of conflicts on freedom of information and its protagonists. The ranking of some countries has also been affected by a tendency to interpret national security needs in an overly broad and abusive manner to the detriment of the right to inform and be informed. This trend constitutes a growing threat worldwide and is even endangering freedom of information in countries regarded as democracies. Finland tops the index for the fourth year running, closely followed by Netherlands and Norway, like last year. At the other end of the index, the last three positions are again held by Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, three countries where freedom of information is non-existent.

Somewhere Moonbat Sean Penn is sobbing with dramatic tears…..

VENEZUELA –  “I want to get out of here. I want to leave this country as soon as possible and never come back.”

The text from my friend Luis surprised me. A lawyer by training, he got his masters in urban planning from an elite Manhattan university, and had returned to Venezuela full of hope. He was hired by a local NGO working on poverty abatement issues. But now, he’s fed up.

“Nothing works. There are lines to buy everything. Prices have gone through the roof. You can’t go out at night for fear of getting shot. If you want to get married, finding a place to live is impossible. The country has become unlivable.” (more…)

“No my friend, you don’t sell this stuff to me.  You sell this to the people who don’t have self-respect and self-determination,  and they are weak,  and they love to be subjugated and to be dependent on the government.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbEV5xcoZiA

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David Simon, a former police beat reporter in Baltimore, MD and creator of the popular television series, “The Wire” implies that Libertarians in America are “greedy” and decries Libertarianism as a “juvenile” idea that he “just can’t get past….”  

Clearly upset that Fabian ideology is not taking root in the 20-somethings community, while the Libertarian movement is growing as an identified political affiliation in the cohort,  he gave a speech in Australia in November, 2013 at the “Dangerous Ideas” conference declaring “Libertarianism in my country is now being taken seriously as an intelligent mode of political thought… it’s astonishing to me… ” (around the 8:00 – 10:00 mark) and then goes on a screed to deliberately disparage and attempt to dismiss the Libertarian school of thought – including the assertion that Libertarians are “anti-government” (as Moyers chuckles along in agreement…)  Fraidy cat!

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The articulation of the rebel alliance captured:

For the value within the backstory GO HERE

We’re not too well versed in Ukrainian politics so we enjoy the perspectives of readers with family, friends to help us understand.   However, we do know the general modus operandi of the Russian political maneuvering; and Yanukovych going to the hospital for a mystery illness is a commonly used strategy.   Generally a hard-line push by the government follows the “illness”.   Perhaps use of the Ukrainian Army is about to take place. 

[BBC]  Protesters in Ukraine have rejected the terms of a new amnesty law aimed at ending the country’s unrest.

Kiev’s parliament backed an amnesty plan for detainees if protesters vacated the government buildings they have occupied and unblocked streets and squares throughout the country.

The Question Remains – WHY NO MAINSTREAM U.S. COVERAGE ?

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned on Tuesday in a bid to ease Ukraine’s deadly two-month crisis as lawmakers debated key reforms.

“I have taken a personal decision to ask the president of Ukraine to accept my resignation from the post of prime minister with the aim of creating an additional possibility for a political compromise to peacefully resolve the conflict,” he said in a statement. (link)

Juxtaposition:

Saturday 1/18/14,  a man wearing Google Glasses (prescription glass) went to enjoy a movie with his wife.  A showing of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit at an AMC theater in Columbus, Ohio.

About an hour  into the movie,  federal agents yanked the Glasses off the man’s face,  pulled them out of the theater and took them to separate interrogation rooms.

The Story is Confirmed –  And Also outlined HERE – The man, who’d just been trying to enjoy a crappy movie with his lovely wife  on a Saturday night, says he was accused of illegally taping the movie and  questioned extensively about “who I am, where I live, where I work, how much I’m  making, how many computers I have at home, why am I recording the movie, who am  I going to give the recording to, why don’t I just give up the guy up the chain,  ’cause they are not interested in me. Over and over and over again.”

The agents also allegedly displayed this level of ridiculousness:

They wanted to know where I got Glass and how did I came by having it. I  told them I applied about 1000 times to get in the explorer program, and  eventually I was selected, and I got the Glass from Google. I offered to show  them receipt and Google Glass website if they would allow me to access any  computer with internet. Of course, that was not an option. Then they wanted to  know what does Google ask of me in exchange for Glass, how much is Google paying  me, who is my boss and why am I recording the movie.

After an hour of intense interrogation, the agents hooked the Glass up  to a computer, and saw that all it was storing were personal family  photos, he says. They allegedly went through his phone, too, and  found nothing. (more…)